Development and knowledge intensification in industries upstream of Zambia's copper mining sector

This research, part of the Making the Most of Commodities Programme, focuses on development and knowledge intensification in industries upstream of Zambia’s copper mining sector. It explores the hypothesis that localisation and deepening of upstream linkages are driven by six factors: ownership, sectoral policies, the National System of Innovation, skills’ spillovers, regional capabilities and infrastructure. In particular, the role of ownership in shaping value chain governance and in promoting industrialisation and knowledge-intensification of local industries is analysed in detail. Zambia represents an interesting case-study, with the recent, sizeable entry of China and India in its mining value chain. As China’s investment in Africa attracts increasing interest from academia and Governments, this research on the effect of China’s entry into Zambia’s copper mining industry on the localisation of upstream linkages contributes to this debate from an evidence-based position. The report discusses comprehensively the policy implications of the empirical findings. The report is based on field research undertaken in the Copperbelt, North-Western Province and Lusaka in 2009